SALEM, Ohio — Data centers pose a serious electricity reliability risk to Pennsylvania consumers, according to a recent report from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, which regulates energy utilities in the state.
The study, released on Sept. 14, examined how the future PJM electricity supply — the regional grid operator covering the eastern United States — will endure as demand grows and existing generation (like power plants) retire.
According to PA PUC, if electricity supply doesn’t keep pace with data center demands, these facilities could increase outages across the PJM grid.
“Pennsylvania is at an energy crossroads,” PUC Chairman Steve DeFrank said in a statement. “Data center development brings significant opportunities, but that growth cannot come at the expense of the families and businesses that already depend on reliable and affordable electric service.”
These findings come out amid national calls from various artificial intelligence company CEO’s to slow down the development of AI to ensure public safety.
PA PUC study
The study, titled “Assessing Electricity Resource Adequacy in Pennsylvania and PJM” comes after PJM released its 2027/2028 Base Residual Auction Reserve Target Shortfall Report in February.
The PJM report estimates that data center consumption will double by the end of the decade, consuming roughly 6.7% to 12% of the total U.S. electricity generation by 2028.
As proposed data centers pop up across the region and demand for power grows, reliable fuel-based electricity generation like coal-fired power plants and gas turbines are being retired. According to the PUC, this will lead to higher electricity prices and is estimated to strain the PJM electricity grid, particularly in wintertime.
The PUC commissioned Synapse Energy Economics, an independent research and consulting firm, to develop projections of future energy resources over the long term and assess grid reliability in the state and throughout the PJM grid.
The study found that by 2030, the electricity reliability risk is nearly six times worse than PJM’s projection.
PJM designed its regional grid to limit potential electrical outages to one event every 10 years. Under a more severe scenario observed in the PUC report, the agency estimates that the combination of increased demand and decreased supply could result in roughly 13 loss-of-load events per year starting in 2030.
“Time matters,” DeFrank said. “The changes highlighted in this report are not decades away. The reliability pressures emerge during the next several years, and the decisions being made now will determine how prepared we are to meet them.”
To deter these events, the state agency has already taken various measures, including updating Pennsylvania’s emergency electric load control regulations and creating the Ratemaking Working Group, which will examine how the costs of electricity from high load events are distributed and make recommendations on how to protect consumers and utilities.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also signed an executive order in August that ordered the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to only consider permitting data centers in the state that adhere to his GRID standards, which include a requirement for these facilities to bring their own power sources.
Meanwhile, AI company leaders are advocating to pull the brakes on the rapidly expanding technology.
AI CEO’s warn about technology
In an interview on Sept. 12, CEO of Anthropic, an AI company based out of San Francisco, Dario Amodei said the artificial intelligence industry should slow its fast-paced development to allow safety measures to catch up.
Otherwise, he warned that within six to 12 months, AI could lead a swarm of agents to take over the internet, according to the Associated Press. These warnings have gotten backing from AI company leaders, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis and xAI owner Elon Musk.
“We could lose control of the future to AI,” Altman said in a Sept. 14 X post calling for increased safety measures.
Altman’s company OpenAI and ChatGPT said they would wait until next year to start selling their stock on Wall Street as they develop increased safety protocols.
In response, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Sept. 14, stating that calls for AI safeguards are a “hoax,” and the only control needed is “a strong and smart (high IQ!) president, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
